England Secures 9th Consecutive Victory Over Tough Fiji
Autumn International Series
England (14) 38
Tries: Cowan-Dickie, Feyi-Waboso, Genge, George, Arundell, Itoje Cons: F Smith 5
Fiji (13) 18
Tries: Ikanivere 2, Muntz Pen: Muntz
England scored four tries after halftime to overcome a resilient Fiji side in their latest autumn international.
The victory extends the English team's undefeated streak to nine games and follows up their win over the Wallabies last Saturday.
The home side opened the scoring through hooker Cowan-Dickie before Fiji responded with tries by Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.
Number ten Muntz failed to convert either try but nailed a penalty to take the visitors further ahead before Feyi-Waboso scored.
Prop Genge and Ikanivere then exchanged tries to ignite an thrilling second half.
Substitutes George and Arundell, who showed his blistering speed, finished off tries to take the English side into a comfortable lead.
Those scores came either side of Fiji scrum-half Simi Kuruvoli spilling the ball when going for the tryline.
England captain Maro Itoje, who also came off the bench, grabbed the final try.
Borthwick's side now play the All Blacks this coming weekend in their toughest test on paper this autumn.
The Fijians Start Fast to Pressure The English
Before this encounter, the English team had won eight of their nine games with the Fijian side – most lately taking 30-24 in the last eight of the 2023 World Cup.
Their sole loss came two months prior the competition in France and was a significant shift under Borthwick.
With Fiji on a five-match winning run – their equal best run since the late nineties – the game was always expected to be competitive.
Following slick phase play, number eight Chandler Cunningham-South gained valuable meters before Cowan-Dickie barged over for the first try from close range, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a maul adding a swift reply.
Known as the Flying Fijians, that was apparent in defence through powerful first-half midfield hits, with full-back Smith, deployed as a additional playmaker, in particular targeted.
But it was the vintage attacking Fijian flare that was the highlight in the first forty as offloads sliced through the English defense for Muntz to touch down.
Feyi-Waboso expertly collected a cross-field kick by Smith to take England into the lead after he had been illegally challenged in the air by Ravutaumada, who was given a sin-binning following a bunker review.
The English Impact Substitutes Shines Once More
England pulled away from Australia the previous weekend in the last twenty minutes through the strength of their replacements that contained six British and Irish Lions.
A significantly altered starting XV from the win over the Australians did grab the following touchdown as the prop crossed following a strong carry by Ollie Lawrence, who was returning to the national side after suffering his Achilles versus the Italians in spring.
Nonetheless, after a smart line-out move was finished by Ikanivere, Borthwick introduced several of his bench on the 54-minute mark – featuring Lions tourists Henry Pollock and Curry.
With the game still in the balance, Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli fumbled of the ball when reaching for the goal line to cancel out substitute the hooker's score.
Breakdown specialist Earl, who scored against Australia, produced a spectacular game-saving stop to maintain breathing room between the sides.
It capped another outstanding overall display by Earl, who received back-to-back player-of-the-match awards.
The substitute's speed to chase down a kick through demonstrated exactly why the English replacements is so influential.
It is full of top players and quality, which has aided in victories in the closing stages that were squandered versus the Wallabies and New Zealand last autumn.
Given Scotland ran New Zealand close, the English team will fancy their chances of sending a message this weekend.
If successful, the substitutes will likely play another key factor.
Line-ups
England: M Smith; Freeman, Lawrence, Dingwall, Feyi-Waboso; F Smith, Mitchell; Genge, Cowan-Dickie, Heyes, Coles, Chessum, Pepper, Earl, Cunningham-South
Replacements: George, Baxter, Opoku-Fordjour, Itoje, T Curry, Pollock, Spencer, Arundell
Fiji: Rayasi; Ravutaumada, Ravouvou, Tuisova, Wainiqolo; Muntz, Kuruvoli; Mawi, Ikanivere, Doge, Nasilasila, Mayanavanua, Sowakula, Canakaivata, Mata
Replacements: Togiatama, Hetet, Tawake, Vocevoce, Murray, Wye, Armstrong-Ravula, Maqala
Sin-bin: Ravutaumada
Refereeing Team
Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant referee: Luc Ramos (France) and Katsuki Furuse (Japan)
Television match official: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
